Laptop Recommendations

In the ongoing saga of getting ready for beer school (yay!), I'm going to need a laptop for my trip to Germany. Looking for people's suggestions.

The main purpose of this will be a school computer while in Germany that I use for internet, documents, study, and keeping in touch.

I'm a PC guy and looking that direction. Not totally averse to Mac's for laptops, but I'm not a fan.

Overall value is important to me. I want to be relatively frugal, but I want something good.

I tend to be a bit rough on equipment and want something fairly sturdy.

I'm also a bit of a gamer. I'm not looking for a hardcore gaming laptop, but I'd like to be able to play the occasional round of TF2 or similar while in Europe. (A major reason I'm leaning away from Mac.)

I would really like something with a built in camera so that I can make skype with my girlfriend and family while away for six months.

Must have built in wireless for while bumming around cafes in Europe.

I'm planning to go over to Fry's at some point and play with different models to see how I feel about ergonomics.

Just buy a cheapie Dell - not a bad deal, and super cheap. We've had an Inspiron whatever for a few years, it was $430, and does everything we need. In my humble opinion, computers are not as hard to select as they used to be. Unless you're doing something very serious, just get whatever for hardware, it's all pretty fast.

I know it's expensive, but don't rule Macs out just on price. Email the PC companies who make the laptops you're considering; tell them you'll be abroad for six months and need to know the process for sending your laptop in for repair. There are many who will NOT service a laptop purchased in another country, so you may have to ship it back to the US if something fails. You'll want to focus on the PC makers who can service your laptop in Germany (or at least a shipping station in Europe) should something go wrong.

Personally, the reason I switched to Mac is that their tech support and ability to walk into any store in the world and get something fixed, is well worth the extra cost. I was traveling a lot when I first made the switch; the switch paid off in the first six months when I dropped my laptop and basically busted the bluetooth card - I was able to get an appt at a Genius bar in the town I was in and had the mac fixed the same day. There are Apple stores in Germany (see http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/ and select Germany...), though they may be a bit of a haul from your locale.

I mostly play World of Warcraft, which plays fine on the Mac. I keep VMWare fusion and an image of my work PC on it for when I need Windows.

My only non-Mac in the last 5 years is a wee little Fujitsu Lifebook, which I adored but promptly stopped using when I got an iPhone. ><

Good luck!

I am not discounting Mac, just saying it's not my general preference. I do respect how well made their laptops tend to be.

Something that I can get support for in Europe is important. I do figure something like HP will be pretty international though.

Hmm... looks like Steam runs on Mac, and that many (maybe even most) of the games I have on my Steam account will run on Mac. That's promising.

Asus. The last two I have bought have been Asus just due to their cases being more durable than anything else. A net book for me and a laptop for the daughter to take to college. I will also recommend the Sony Viao. I have one I use for graphics and videos. Outstanding computer, but more expensive than the Asus.

I would avoid the Acer units. On the newer ones, the only thing that supports the screen is the screen. My wife has broken three of them.

Here's their German info, not that I can read it. They do have a European division though.

http://www.asus.de/

Craigslist. Buy used. Just make sure to get the disc for it, or get the discs from the manufacturer to do a clean OS install.

Toyman01 wrote: Here's their German info, not that I can read it. They do have a European division though. http://www.asus.de/

Looks like their service/replacement center for pretty much all of Europe is in Holland. I'm pretty tech savvy, and short of hardware damage, I'm not too worried.

This is also why I'm looking to pick up one sooner rather than later. I figure most issues will occur in the first couple months of ownership, or won't crop up for a couple years.

RossD wrote: Craigslist. Buy used. Just make sure to get the disc for it, or get the discs from the manufacturer to do a clean OS install.

Umm... no. A used laptop will have a more questionable history than a used turbo sportscar.

Mac. Get a unibody unit and it's tough as nails from what I've heard. Plus, they work.

Mac or a business-spec Lenovo tend to be my choices for laptops.

Toyman01 wrote: Asus. The last two I have bought have been Asus just due to their cases being more durable than anything else.

+1 for Asus. I replaced a POS HP that would get glitchy graphics when it got hot - which was almost all the time, with an Asus. It performed flawlessly. I use the past tense, because although the system was great, the (closed) screen could not deflect a dropped hammer. Wife has an Asus netbook, Mom and daughter both have laptops, as well. All three have been faultless in the past year or so that they've had them. Mine did, too, for close to two years, before the hammer dropped.

I buy bottom end Toshibas. $350 at Best Buy and as long as you aren't too rough on them, they last quite a while. 5 yearsish. Just remember its a laptop and don't put it in a bag you're going to throw around.

In reply to RealMiniDriver:

That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "drop the hammer" Remind me to never be around when you "drop" it again.

got this laptop about 8 months ago... toshiba dual core 2.2ghz 4gig ram, 250gig HDD 10key at the side... just under $400 shipped from newegg.... it spent 6 months all over the world (3 months in hot humid panama with no a/c) another 2 month traveling europe...

when I asked my dad (tech at the oldest repair shop in columbus GA) he said he recommends acer over all else (PC only) and don't even think of HP... they have STACKS of HP in the back of the shop...

as for used... IMHO if it the price is right and it works well when you get it and no cracked case or anything it's OK... i got an acer netbook for $130 used on CL... did a factory restore (no disc required... hit the key sequence at the startup splash screen)... tossed an ebay 9 cell battery for a genuine 12hr battery life...

In reply to Toyman01:

I'll have to remember to put the lappy away when doing home improvements.

GATEWAY NV5922H

Why you ask?

For one it is cheap (under $500cdn when on sale). Two, it has an ATI 5650 graphics card in it which is a REALLY, REALLY good mobile gfx card (you won't find a laptop cheaper that has a gfx card remotely close to that one). Three, I told my friend to buy it, he did, and loves it (as do I, it works swell)!

And you can buy it at the source... which went bankrupt in the states, so "source" it elsewhere!

Okay, from feel and a few basic features, my list in rough order is Sony VAIO, Gateway, Acer, or Asus. I like the Sony VAIO EE series the best, but they seem to be a bit more expensive. Now I need to dig a bit more into what kind of support they would have in Europe.

This looks like a likely winner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127344

Should I spend the extra $50 or so for an extended warranty?

Never mind about the warranty. NewEgg's warranties don't apply outside of the US/Canada.

The kiddo bought a Compaq laptop last year from BB. Including a printer and carry bag it was $425.00. She runs it CONSTANTLY and has not managed to kill it (well, she did download a virus but that wasn't the computer's fault). I have a ~3 year old HP which is fine except for Windows Vista. I HATE Vista.

N Sperlo wrote: I buy bottom end Toshibas. $350 at Best Buy and as long as you aren't too rough on them, they last quite a while. 5 yearsish. Just remember its a laptop and don't put it in a bag you're going to throw around.

I run screaming from Toshibas mine was nothing but trouble as was my friend's.

One big thing is screen hinge quality.

Interestingly, after Apple, Acer looks like it's going to have the best international support. They specifically have an International Travelers Warranty and a service center in Hamburg

Now leaning towards this unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215037

More expensive, but significantly more powerful with a dedicated graphics card. This thing outspecs my desktop machine.

Dell does onsite international support if you go with the onsite warranty.

/employee

I have an Asus myself and it's pretty good.

I picked a really well equipped Toshiba up on newegg for a little over $500 w/ free shipping for the family to use as a general internet/homework/fun. The reviews were good - full keyboard and nice big screen are pluses since it never leaves the house. So far... no complaints and the kids have been using it to make/edit movies. The performance is solid.

TOSHIBA Satellite L675D-S7102 NoteBook AMD Athlon II Dual-Core P360(2.30GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Radeon HD 4250

dollraves wrote: Personally, the reason I switched to Mac is that their tech support and ability to walk into any store in the world and get something fixed, is well worth the extra cost.

This might be a dumb question- but who has had their computers serviced by someone other then yourself in the last 5 years?

In the last decade, I've had 2 major laptops, and 3 desktops.

Each time, when one failed (and i use that loosely), things had progressed so far that it was easier to just get a new one.

I may be an odd one, but I've not had a single major computer failure where repairing it was better than replacing it.

Which is why I found it quite hard to justify a $1000 mac when I could get 2 $500 Dells.

So, honest question- is repair tech support REALLY that important when buying a computer?